Peacemaker
by Imperium42
Summary: In an alternate DBZ universe, Goku is sent to Earth with a female Saiyan, Kalani, who is given the name Goha and raised as his sister. When Raditz takes leave from conquering a planet with Vegeta and Nappa to find the two, unexpected twists ensue, and the fate of the DBZ universe is changed forever. A/U, Raditz/OC with possible mentions of Goku/Vegeta and Vegeta/Turles later.
1. Chapter 1: Udaryya

Hello, ! While this isn't the first fanfic I've ever written, it is the first I've published- leave your honest opinions, I would love some tips from fellow authors!

So, regarding the story. _Peacemaker _is the first of a trilogy of stories I plan to do in an alternate Dragonball Z universe, where Goku/Kakarot was originally sent to Earth not alone, but with Kalani, a female Saiyan who is given the name Goha and raised with Goku as his sister. She'll change the entire DBZ universe drastically, but you'll have to wait to see how. Oh, and in keeping with the tradition of naming Saiyans after fruits and vegetables, the name Kalani is a play on Kai-Len, the Chinese name for a leafy vegetable used commonly in Cantonese cuisine.

Each one of the three stories will focus on a different romance. _Peacemaker _will center on Raditz and Kalani, the second story will center on one of my personal favorite pairings, Goku and Vegeta, and the third will center on a very curious pairing that I'm still on the ropes with regarding whether to go through with it or change it: Nappa and Launch (her bad form, that is). It was originally going to be just two stories, but I felt kind of bad pairing both of Nappa's partners but not him up, so I started thinking about doing a third, shorter one for him. Let me know what you think of the idea.

And just a quick setting review: Remember Vegeta and Nappa's first appearance in DBZ? They're on a forested planet, surrounded by large dead, insect like beings (eating them, to be precise). The planet is never named, never expanded upon, it's just there as a background. That, in my fanfic universe, is Udaryya, a massive planet which took even Vegeta and Nappa over a _year _to conquer, for reasons explained in the story below. If you have any further questions about the setting, the timeframe, or anything else, for that matter, feel free to ask me, I'm more than happy to answer.

Italics= Character's thoughts

Enjoy the fanfic!

_Peacemaker_

_Chapter 1: Udaryya_

Blood. Fire. Smoke. Death. _Music to my ears. _One after another, the warriors of the village fell in blasts of ki and pillars of suffocating smoke, their arrows and spears shattering on contact with my armor as their resistance became more and more futile and desperate; not that a tribe of filthy insects festering in the jungle would have ever stood a chance against a Saiyan in the first place. I swiftly lost count of how many craven villagers had fled into their huts rather than face my wrath, and spared myself the trouble of hunting them down by letting out a final, double handed ki blast. The wave of energy leveled what hadn't already been taken by fire, letting out a thundering roar which echoed through the jungle around me, and choking the air with dust and ash.

Chuckling softly to myself, I waved my hand, quickly dispersing the black cloud before taking off back towards my partners, Nappa and Prince Vegeta. Gliding above the thick, teal draped forest canopy, I caught sight of several thin columns of gray smoke winding skywards several miles to the west, and grunted. _Great. More of these damn villages. It's going to take forever to comb this damned planet. _There was nothing about this particular conquest which pleased me in the slightest, when I thought of it. When Frieza had assigned our team to conquer Udaryya, a planet which hadn't even advanced past the tribal level, I had thought that we got off easy. The mission had been simple: Exterminate the native, insectoid population to the last village, to allow Frieza's Planet Trade Organization to found a mining colony. Frieza had been uncannily specific in his instructions to clear "every last village", however, and now I knew why.

The fact that Udaryya had no cities and no central government, which I had thought would benefit us, backfired quickly. No central governments beyond tribes meant that if we razed a thousand villages, leaving none alive, the next thousand wouldn't know that we were even on the planet. The levels of isolation and lack of communication made it impossible to force the natives to surrender to Frieza's rule on any sort of large scale, not that they would be intelligent enough to negotiate anyway. And so the only option was to search the jungles and clear the villages one by one, a fact that wasn't helped by the planet's sheer size; Udaryya was almost three times as massive as Vegeta-sei, with most of its land covered in thick rainforests.

To further exacerbate the situation, the indigenous not only peppered the forest with their villages, but also, as Vegeta had discovered yesterday, kept almost as many as on the surface located in vast stretches of underground tunnels, which they constantly expanded. The whole fiasco infuriated me more with every passing day, and every day my rage at Frieza grew. He had stuck us with this planet as punishment for Nappa lashing out at him, or perhaps simply for being Saiyans, so he could sit back in his throne and mock us as we spent month after month scouring caves and razing forests, all to hunt down a few bugs. Whereas normal conquests of planets like Shikk took mere days, I knew, Nappa knew, even Vegeta knew that Udaryya would take a year or more, at best. I shuddered silently to myself as the two became visible in a clearing below. _A year of this Hell…_

Obviously, my frustration showed; as I landed, Vegeta, never missing a chance to insult my power level, called out with a smirk,

"What's wrong, Raditz? Was that last village too much for you?"

"We can let you guard the camp if you can't handle the fighting," Nappa continued with a wry grin, siding with his former charge like he always did.

"Nappa's right!" Vegeta cried in mock awe. "I mean, you probably need some training time to work on your power level; perhaps by the time we leave, you can have it above 2,000!"

"Shut up, the both of you," I growled, clenching my fists and doing everything in my power to prevent my ki from spiking with rage, as that traditionally signaled a challenge, and I learned long ago that sparring with Vegeta never ended well for me. Normally, I could contain the anger, but my partners didn't exactly make the task easy on occasions like this. "I was just thinking about how pointless this gods-damned mission on this gods-damned planet is! Vegeta, you know that Frieza is humiliating us on purpose with this mission! Where's your Saiyan pride? How can you stand for this, after everything he's done?!"

On this issue, I knew that for once, Nappa was on my side, as he brought up the subject of deserting or rebelling against Frieza as often as I did, even if Vegeta ignored us most of the time. Done with the insults for the moment, Vegeta sighed and sat on the trunk of a felled tree, his brow furrowing.

"You two don't understand what deserting Frieza would mean for us, for the rest of our race. Believe me, he would track us down and execute us, and it would be the perfect excuse for him to hunt any other remaining Saiyans into extinction as well. If we're going to overthrow him, and trust me, my comrades, the Saiyans _will _have their vengeance, we have to make him trust us first. We must work our way through his ranks and serve him loyally until he is too blinded by our ruse to suspect anything, and we cannot break when he torments us with missions like this one; that's exactly what he wants us to do. No, we will persevere though situations like this, and ascend his ranks until we can go no higher- then, we will gather the remaining Saiyans, and strike him down, avenging our people and my father once and for all!"

_Spoken like a true leader, _I thought to myself, nodding slowly along with Nappa, _like a king. _

"Other Saiyans…" Nappa murmured, frowning, "I thought that we were the only ones who made it?"

"Don't be foolish, Nappa," Vegeta replied, standing and gazing towards the skies. "I've been in communication with Turles since Shikk, trying to get him and his pirates to join forces with our group. My brother, Tarble, is in exile, though I don't know where, and he's too weak to be of use anyways." Vegeta paused momentarily, and then settled his gaze on me. "Raditz, it's been so long that they're almost certainly dead, but wasn't your brother, Kakarot, sent to conquer Earth with Kalani years ago?"

An alarm went off in my mind as the memories of my infant brother came rushing back to me at once; I had almost forgotten! Kakarot had been sent with Kalani to conquer the remote planet Earth hours before Vegeta-sei was destroyed, when I was but a child. The civilization there had barely begun to tap into ki, and so two Saiyan infants had seemed more than enough to subjugate it. Communication with the two, however, was completely lost, and though under normal circumstances a search party would have been sent, the simultaneous extinction of most of the Saiyan race, including King Vegeta and my father, Bardock, had prevented this from occurring.

"They might not be dead," I mused, running different possibilities through my mind, "Maybe they heard of the destruction of Vegeta-sei and decided to lay low… or perhaps the conquest of Earth proved more difficult than we thought? What if the fight is still ongoing?"

"If they're true Saiyan warriors, they would have subjugated Earth long ago. But even so, if you're right, the two of them might prove a valuable asset to our group. Two more Saiyans would mean that the planets we attack will fall almost twice as quickly; not to mention that faster conquests and more soldiers at his disposal would gain us favor with Frieza."

Vegeta pondered this for a moment, and then turned to me once more.

"Raditz, I want you to go to Earth, find Kalani and Kakarot, and wait there. From here it will take approximately a year in a pod to get to Earth; by then, we should be nearly done here on Udaryya, and after we finish and report back to Frieza, we'll join you there. If by some freak accident they failed and were killed, I expect that you can finish the job on your own… or then again, maybe we should be sending Nappa."

"I can handle it," I snapped, scowling as I plodded to my pod and set the coordinates for Earth. After linking my scouter to Vegeta and Nappa's and making forced farewells, it finally hit me that I wasn't going to have to spend the next year of my life living on the oversized rock called Udaryya, hunting down bugs in the forest like Vegeta and Nappa. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I threw my head back and laughed as my pod blasted upwards through the atmosphere, and hypersleep's cold fingers began to take me.

And hence Chapter 1 ends. What did you think? Please leave your honest thoughts and/or any unanswered questions in the comments, it would be greatly appreciated!

As for Chapter 2, in keeping with the pattern I explained, it will be written from Goha/Kalani's point of view, and should release by about this time next week, depending on school and what my workload is like.

Bye for now!

-Imperium42


	2. Chapter 2: Boredom Everlasting

And here is Chapter 2, right on time. It probably would have been out even sooner, but I had a great time writing this, as you can probably see by the fact that it's almost twice as long as the first chapter. I eventually had to cut it off, though- I do need to save material for the next chapter, after all.

So I realize I mentioned a pattern in the chapters last time, though I forgot to mention what I meant by that, so let me clarify: Chapters will alternate between Raditz's and Goha's point of view. Chapter 1 was Raditz, Chapter 2 is Goha, Chapter 3 will be Raditz, and so on, with occasional sections within chapters from other characters' perspectives, to move forward certain parts of the narrative. You'll see what I mean.

And so without further ado, here is Chapter 2:

_Peacemaker_

_Chapter 2: Boredom Everlasting_

"Come on, Goha! We have to charge him!"

I nodded, my long, ebony locks falling across my eyes once more as my eyes shifted from the eager young boy beside me to the immense, leering Namekian standing in the center of the field. _King Piccolo. _I exchanged one final glance with Goku, my brother, before joining him at rushing Piccolo head-on, my fist raised, poised to strike…

I woke up with a gasp in the cramped bed in a cold sweat and swore out loud, not caring who else in Kame House I woke. _More of these moronic, pointless dreams._ They had been occurring on and off for the past several weeks, and were always the same: Goku and I fighting together when we were younger. Against Piccolo. Against Pilaf. Against the Red Ribbon Army. I felt like an old soldier recalling her glory days, and that was the part which bothered me the most. At 24, in my prime, I should be out saving the world, doing things that matter again, like I had when my brother and I were young. _And he should be too. _The thought strayed into my head on a whim, but it only served to worsen my mood even further.

After Goku married Chi-Chi and settled down to start a family, I had been as happy for him as anyone else, but deep inside, there was a part of me that had never accepted Goku "settling down". A part that wanted both of us to still be out there, fighting evil when no one else would, or even just fighting for the sake of it. A part that would never be satisfied with the torturously dull, shell of an existence that I had assumed since my brother's marriage. And I knew for a fact that no matter what I did, this primal, almost _alien _urge would never be silenced.

"Uhh… Goha... are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Oolong!" I snapped, not needing to look towards my room's door to recognize the perverse, shape-shifting pig. I could hear him shrink slightly away from the doorframe, but I knew he was still there. "What do you want?"

"Oh, well I was just thinking, if you're lonely and you need some company…"

Oolong faltered off as I wordlessly produced a spinning ball of ki in my left hand, frantically shouting a series of apologies before fleeing back to his room. After he had gone, and Kame House was quiet once more, I laid back down, a scowl on my face. The Kame House itself was a wonderful, quaint little seaside cottage that I was happy to call my home, but its inhabitants were something else entirely. Living as the only female in a house full of perverted men was beginning to take its toll on me, and Krillin, Roshi, and Oolong were only getting worse over time. There wasn't a morning that went by without me catching at least one of them staring at my chest, and usually it was all three. They also found it amusing to hide all of my clean clothes after I trained, making me spend the rest of the day slicked in sweat and seawater; I had even once caught them watching me swim from the house's windows with binoculars. _I swear to god, _I thought malevolently, my scowl growing deeper and my power level rising, _if they keep this shit up today, Kami help me, I will LEVEL this house, and I will not be held responsible for what I do to its inhabitants! _

Lowering my ki, I sighed, knowing full well the real reason I had to deal with these men. _Chi-Chi. _My ki almost spiked again at the thought of her. Chi-Chi was always a very kind, spirited girl, and while I approved of her marriage to Goku, I didn't approve of what it had done to her. Until Goku's wedding, I had lived with my brother, and even after his marriage, neither of us planned on me moving out. On the night of his wedding, I had rented a room at a nearby motel to give the two newlyweds privacy, but when I returned the following, day, one of the first things Chi-Chi did was ask Goku and I to have our DNA tested, to see if we were really siblings. At the time I had thought nothing of it, being merely amused by Chi-Chi's apparent instincts to want to get to know her new family, and happy to send my DNA in along with Goku. Then the match came back negative. We weren't actually brother and sister, just two extraordinarily physically similar people who had been raised together. Goku and I were taken aback, but after talking over the situation, we were both happy to look past this, and continue to live together and treat each other like siblings like we had done our entire lives, with nothing different than before. Chi-Chi disagreed.

It was only then that I finally understood her motives: Now that it was clear to her that we were not related, and that a romantic relationship between Goku and me wouldn't be incestuous, I was a threat in her eyes. A powerful, attractive woman living with her and her husband, who wasn't family, who could kill her in an instant, who was closer to her own husband than she was. Goku is many things, but strong-willed when it comes to women is apparently not one of them; when Chi-Chi asked that I leave, he wasn't able to resist. I could've literally fought his wife tooth and nail over it, but for my brother's sake, I packed my things and left quietly, full of dejection and anger. With nowhere else to turn, I had come to the Kame House and never regained the strength to go back, constantly dealing with the perversion of Roshi, Oolong, and Krilin, and rarely hearing from Goku, if at all.

On nights like this, when everything came rushing back to me, it was just all too much. The desire to fight again, the pitfalls of living here, my fury at Chi-Chi, and the yawning gap that never seeing my brother left in my heart… Sometimes I just wanted to leave, to take off over the endless ocean and never look back, and sometimes I wanted to blow down Goku's door, drop kick Chi-Chi into a ravine, and just be happy with my brother again. Smiling lightly at the thought of the latter, I accepted the fact that I wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight and stood, glancing at my clock. 4:57 in the morning- the sun was barely beginning to cast a dim glow on the distant horizon, and the water would be freezing. _I guess I need a wake-up call anyways._

After two hours of intense exercise on the beach, several laps of swimming around the island, and a break to grab some pearl-oysters off the bottom of a nearby reef, the morning sun was well into the sky, and I was beginning to hear the first signs of activity inside the house. Squeezing the saltwater out of my long, spiked black hair and retrieving at least one small crab lodged in it, I caught scent of breakfast cooking, and eagerly rushed inside to change into dry clothes before I ate, all of last night's worries forgotten with the promise of food. I swiftly opened my closet door, reaching for a fresh orange gi, only to find… nothing. I knew at once what the others had been doing while I was outside, and swore to myself.

"ROSHI! Where in Kami's name did you asses put my clothes?!"

I was only answered by a cacophony of snickering from downstairs, followed a few moments later by Roshi's voice.

"I don't know, Goha! Maybe you should come down here and help us look!"

"Do we get a _reward _if we find them?" Oolong chimed in.

The three broke into snickering like little boys once more, and I was tempted to just beat them to a pulp now, and spare myself the trouble of dealing with their immaturity. I closed my door for now, though, looking in the mirror to access exactly how I looked; I shuddered at the sight. The soaked orange fabric had clung to my chest and stomach, outlining my frontal features much more clearly than I would ever want anyone to see them, especially the three downstairs, and I didn't even bother turning around to see what that looked like. Feeling a spike of rage towards them and humiliation for myself, my ki jumped sharply, and for a moment I was surrounded by a blue aura. After it receded, two things occurred to me: My clothes were now dry, and I was probably the biggest moron this side of West City. _Why the Hell haven't I done that before?! How could I have been so stupid as to not realize that I can dry myself with ki?!_

Cringing at the thought of how many times I had needlessly swallowed my pride and walked around with soaking clothes, I slammed open my door, leaped down the stairs, and in mere moments was standing over Roshi, Krillin, and Oolong with fury in my eyes, finally ready to exact my vengeance. Oolong panicked and dashed to the bathroom as soon as he made eye contact with me, locking himself in, while Krillin and Roshi backed into a corner, looking both confused and nervous.

"H-how did you find your clothes?!" Krillin blurted, his eyes wide. "I thought we locked the attic!"

"Krillin, shut up!" Roshi cried, whacking the younger man on the knees with his cane and eliciting a shout of pain.

"So that's where you've been keeping them!" I cried, my voice wavering menacingly. "Krillin, I'll be sure to thank you for telling me once I use your head to BASH IN THE DAMN DOOR!"

The short fighter gulped, running his hands over his head as if it was going to be the last time he ever did, while out of the corner of my eye I caught Roshi trying to sneak towards the front door.

"Not so fast, Roshi!" I called, grabbing Krillin by the back of his shirt and easily hoisting him into the air with one hand, before doing the same with Roshi with the other.

"Goha, please don't do anything rash!" Roshi wailed, flailing. "We were only ever joking! Just having a few laughs! Right, Krillin?"

I knew that Roshi was lying to my face, and gave Krillin a look that told him not to respond. Fed up with their perversion and immaturity, I slammed their heads together with a dull thud, and then tossed them out onto the beach, closing and locking the front door behind me before helping myself to both of their breakfasts with an honest-to-Kami smile on my face. Oolong peeked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, though when he did I interrupted my reverie of eating to shoot him a withering glare, ensuring that he quickly shut himself in once more. By the time my ever-massive appetite had been satisfied, Roshi and Krillin had regained consciousness outside; the former was now rapping on the front door with his cane.

"Goha, you let us in this instant, young lady! I trained you, and I demand to be treated with respect in my own house!"

"You trained me briefly before Goku and I received superior training from Kami, and while I respect you, that doesn't mean you have the right to spy on me, humiliate me, attempt to get me to show you, Krillin, and Oolong my damn breasts, hide my clothes, stare at me when you think I'm not looking or even if you know I am, and do some other things that are pretty unbecoming of an old man!" I retorted, my voice rising with each accusation.

"You wouldn't believe how long I've wanted to say something like that to him," Turtle, the sole resident of Kame House who didn't seem to be lewdly obsessed with me, murmured as he moved into the kitchen. I chuckled, and after a long silence, Krillin piped up from outside, a tinge of desperation in his voice.

"Please tell me you didn't eat my breakfast, Goha…"

Sighing, and with most of my anger already spent for the day, I walked over and opened the door, allowing the two in at last; Roshi, who had been leaning on the door, practically fell in, while Krillin stumbled over him, trying to ascertain the status of his breakfast. Shaking my head as the two lamented on how they'd cooked the meal themselves, and were soon joined by Oolong, I ambled across the beach with no particular goal in mind, my eyes roving the sky as I wished that something, anything interesting would happen to this Kami-damned island. Well, more of an overgrown sandbar, really. Perhaps Kami or Shenron was watching; as if on my beck and call, a bright yellow Capsule Corp micro-helicopter became visible in the distance, its small blades thrumming through the humid, salty air as it descended, kicking up a small cloud of sand on the adjacent beach. My heart soared as the pilot stepped out, her short, cropped blue hair instantly recognizable.

"Bulma!"

"Goha!"

After a friendly hug, we quickly jumped into a stereotypically feminine conversation, a smile growing once more on my faced as we talked about her father, Dr. Briefs, and mother, Bunny, about Yamcha, her on-and-off boyfriend, about the latest Capsule Corp products, about how she cut her hair. Everything was related to her in some fashion, but I didn't care; Bulma was one of the few people who I simply felt comfortable talking around, being around. I had thought more than once about asking her if I could move in, but if there was one thing I despised, it was imposing on others. It was one of the reasons I had moved out of Goku's without a fight, and the idea of leeching off of the success of Bulma and her family and offering nothing in return made me uneasy; it would just be wrong. Kame House was open to anyone who wanted a place to stay and train, even if its inhabitants were utterly boorish, but Capsule Corp wasn't a hotel, and I refused to treat it as such.

I was torn from my moment of bliss as Krillin, Roshi, and Oolong rushed enthusiastically to Bulma's side, and she was caught up in a whirlwind of greetings and pleasantries. Thankfully from the heiress, I was there to catch Roshi's ear in a viselike grip when he attempted to cop a feel, allowing her to give him a much-needed slap. Before he could make a hasty excuse, however, I sensed a familiar power level, and gasped aloud.

"Goku!"

Everyone on the beach raced to the waterline as the legendary fighter descended on his Flying Nimbus, the squabble between Roshi and Bulma forgotten in an instant. When he stepped off, however, as jovial as ever, I noticed something, no, _someone _else in his arms: a small boy wearing a cap with the four-star Dragonball on its peak, with spiky black hair _and a tail. _Krillin asked if Goku was babysitting, but I locked eyes with my brother and in an instant I knew exactly who the boy was. Without a word, I stepped forwards, and locked my brother in the hardest, deepest bear hug I could manage without hurting the child, tears welling in my eyes as I whispered in his ear,

"He's beautiful, Goku."

Setting the child down, he nodded, a soft smile on his face as he returned the hug, and answered my wordless question.

"Gohan."

_After Grandpa…_

I knew that I had every right to be furious that I had gone for years without knowing that my own brother had a child, but as I looked down with Goku into that innocent young face, I could do nothing but fight back tears. Looking to him for wordless consent, I picked up Gohan in the crook of my right arm, smiling towards him.

"You must be Aunt Goha!" He piped up with a grin mirroring mine. "Dad's told me all about you! You look almost just like him!"

I nodded, and at a loss for words, I placed my left arm behind my brother's back as we turned to face the still befuddled group.

"Guys, meet Goku's son. My nephew, Gohan."

I couldn't stop the feeling of pride welling up in my chest as I spoke those words, an intense emotion which almost drove me to tears once more. While Goku answered the shocked group's fusillade of questions, I was simply content to be with my brother again, and nuzzled a little closer to him, blocking out the rest of the world, closing my eyes, and holding Gohan at my side. _Family. _My moment of peace and completion was shattered when I overhead one of Goku's comments to Bulma.

"Chi-Chi won't let him train."

"Oh… So no martial arts, huh? What do you want to be when you grow up, Gohan?"

"An orthopedist."

"Wow… an orthopedist…"

I tugged on my brother's gi urgently, dragging him off to the side of Kame House as Gohan continued to talk with the others.

"An _orthopedist?! _What the hell?! No, no, no, Goku! Are you insane?!"

"Sis," he urged, "I know you want him to be a fighter like us. I do too! But Chi-Chi is my wife, Goha. I can't just refuse her! She's sworn to me that she will never let him fight, that she already knows what he's going to be, and I'm not in a position to go against her. Maybe when he's grown up…"

_By Kami, I swear I will strangle that woman. She's just getting worse!_

"When he's grown up?! Goku, you and I were fighting when we were barely older than he is now, or do I have to remind you? Your son is from a family of fighters, the son of the greatest on the planet! He's destined for martial arts!"

"I tried to explain that to Chi-Chi, but she's overprotective at this stage. She says martial arts are a waste of energy."

_What?! That ungrateful bitch!_

"Goku… have… have you ever reminded your wife that it was our fighting skills that saved both her and the rest of the world countless times? Don't you think she's being a little bit unreasonable?"

"Well yeah, but…"

He tapered off midsentence, and a moment later I knew why. Something unfamiliar, something terrible- a shadow of immense power- was coming straight for us. I could feel it down to my very bones, and it almost scared me.

"You feel it too?"

I nodded, and we immediately dashed around to the front of Kame House, Goku ushering Oolong, Turtle, Gohan, and Bulma onto the porch before he joined me on the beach, our eyes searching the sky.

"What is it, Goku?" Krillin asked as he and Roshi joined us.

"Something terrible is coming. I've never felt anything like this…"

"Could it be Piccolo?"

"Even stronger than him," I growled, clenching my fist, "be ready!"

"There! There!" Master Roshi cried after a moment, pointing his cane towards a far away, rapidly expanding black smudge marring the tranquil morning sky.

I felt utterly helpless, and could do nothing but dig my feet into the sand and begin to raise my ki as the smudge manifested itself into a man, who set down on the sand with a chuckle several moments later. He was tall by anyone's standards, a factor which was aided by a massive mane of spiked, ebony hair that ran all the way to the back of his shins. Adorning his chest was a strange set of ribbed armor, its massive shoulder plates gleaming in the sun, just like a strange, glass and metal instrument he wore over his left eye. As his eyes roved over us a smirk grew on his face, and at last he spoke.

"So we meet again at last. You two have grown up."

My breath hitched. _What?! _

"I still recognize you, though. Kakarot."

_What?!_

Then his eyes, which had been on Goku, shifted to me. After a moment of silence, he bowed.

"And of course, the lovely Princess Kalani."

_WHAT?!_

If you're wondering, or you've already guessed it, yes, Kalani/Goha is the sister of the Saiyan prince you're thinking about. But aside from that plot twist, I would love feedback on how you think she turned out; it's a known fact that OC female Saiyans are a tricky business, and if you could leave your opinion, it would be a huge help!

-Imperium42


	3. Chapter 3: A Past Forgotten

_I have to start off by apologizing- this chapter is several days behind schedule! Due to an unfortunate combination of school and a bit of writer's block, I got thrown off for a while, but thankfully, that's behind. In what I hope will make up for it, part of or the entire next chapter (which will be released this weekend) is going to be from Vegeta's perspective, (something I'll do here and there when it's necessary for the story), but I don't want to spoil it! Here is Chapter 3, once again from Raditz's perspective:_

_Peacemaker_

_Chapter 3: A Past Forgotten_

Shifting my gaze from my brother to Kalani, I raised an eyebrow, my grin growing deeper as I took a bow. _Beauty truly does run in the royal family's veins. Kakarot was in luck when he was sent here with her._

"And of course, the lovely Princess Kalani."

I swiftly rose, awaiting a response from the two warriors. Instead, however, they, along with the rest of the... Earthlings… cowering behind them, appeared both utterly perplexed and astonished.

"Wha… What are you talking about?" Kalani finally managed, a look of utter confusion across her face. "Kalani? Kakarot? Princess? You're obviously lost; you've got the wrong people…"

"Lost? If anyone here is lost, it is you two. Why have you not carried out your mission? Why have you not laid waste to this planet?"

I waited a moment more as the entire group stood stupefied, but my patience was beginning to wane.

"Did you two fools hear me?! Kakarot, Kalani, answer my questions!"

"My name is Goku!" My brother finally responded, his brow furrowed. "And her name is Goha, not Kalani! Now leave us, we aren't who you're looking for!"

Now it was my turn to be plunged into utter confusion. _Have these ingrates forgotten their objective? Or perhaps they're posing as natives to spy on them… a cunning tactic, but it shouldn't take years…_

"What? No, your names are Kakarot and Kalani, and you are explaining to me why Earth is not yet conquered, _now!" _

The two dropped into combat stances; from beside them, a short, bald human stepped forwards, his hands on his hips and a smug, condescending look on his face. I smirked, holding back a chuckle- _this one reminds me of Nappa. Well, a diminutive, weak version of Nappa. Why would two Saiyan warriors be associating themselves with such fools?_

"Goku, Goha, let Krillin handle this one. Alright, look, man, you're obviously straight from the nuthouse, and you've got the wrong people here. If you don't stop bugging my friends with your crazy talk, I might have to beat some sense into y…"

With a single flick of my tail, I sent the babbling little man crashing through the walls of the nearby dwelling, almost disappointed that he hadn't put up a fight. _If only I could do that to the real Nappa._

"He's got a tail!" Kalani cried, her fists dropping. "But… what… how…?"

"Do you two finally recognize me?" I retorted, folding my arms. _Perhaps that's it. They were separated for so long that they forgot who I am._

"No, we don't know you and you don't belong here!" Kakarot snapped; I could sense his ki rising, though it was nowhere near mine. "Now leave us and our friends alone!"

"Friends?! You were supposed to destroy all life on this planet, not befriend it, you ingrates! This is treason!"

"That's it!" Kalani cried, pushing Kakarot aside and placing both of her hands together, facing me, as she began to charge a ki blast. "Enough of this! Now you are going to explain _everything _to me _this instant_, or I'm going to Kamehameha you back to wherever the Hell you came from!"

_Feisty one, isn't she? Just like her brother, the Prince._

I was tempted to lash out at their incompetence, but instinct forced me to stay my fists in the presence of royalty, especially someone who looked so damningly similar to Vegeta. _But how can I explain a history they should know? What could've happened to them? Perhaps battle injuries…_

"I didn't spend a year coming here to explain myself to two amnesiacs, but I'll indulge you. Both of you are Saiyans, members of a proud, warrior race. We conquer planets and sell them to the highest bidder, and you, the daughter of King Vegeta, were sent here year ago with my younger brother to subjugate Earth."

Kalani's mouth hung open slightly, and she backed away as if I was poisonous, keeping her hands raised as her gaze grew troubled.

"What…No… that's impossible…"

Kakarot gasped as he realized the implication of my words, falling out of stance as his eyes grew in disbelief.

"Younger brother… you mean…"

"Yes, Kakarot," I declared smugly, relishing the two's shocked reactions, "I, Raditz, am your sibling; the wiser, more cunning, and more powerful between the two of us, as I can now see. No wonder father was so eager to be rid of you."

Kakarot fell to his knees, his teeth gritted.

"No… you're lying! Goha's right! This is impossible!"

"I hardly think so," I replied, chuckling, "but that is beside the point. What has happened that both you and the Princess have forgotten your mission? Were you injured gravely in battle? Perhaps you sustained trauma to the head early in your conquest?"

Kalani and Kakarot swiftly looked towards one another, their eyes widening with the revelation, and I knew that I had guessed correctly.

"Yes," Kalani finally retorted, not meeting my eyes, "We did. We both fell and hit our heads when we were with… Grandpa…"

She faltered off as she spoke, and as her head sank, a decrepit old man beckoned for the two to come to him.

"Goku, Goha.," he began anxiously, "There's something I need to tell you. That I've needed to tell you for a while… I just didn't know how before now… One day, many long years ago, your Grandpa Gohan, my good friend, was walking through the woods, when he heard a terrible noise, as if the sky itself was falling down. When he went to investigate, he found two small spaceships landed next to each other, each with a small child in them: one male, one female, and both with tails. He named you Goku and Goha, and tried to take you in as his own, but something was terribly wrong. You were unruly, temperamental, powerful, and violent children- especially you, Goha! He had almost given up on you when, one day, you both fell into a deep ravine, one after the other! He was afraid he'd lost you, but you both survived, and from then on were fairly normal, happy children..."

The man paused to allow his message to sink in, and I smirked. _That explains everything. Now I just need them to join me once again, and we can finish conquering this filthy planet while Vegeta and Nappa travel here. _

"Are you two satisfied? Once you've stopped gawking like buffoons and accepted the facts, join me, and we can continue your mission of subjugating this pathetic race."

"Join you?!" Kalani cried, her power level rising to near that of Kakarot's. "_Join you?! _Of all the asinine things I've heard… Never! We're sworn to protect this planet! To protect its inhabitants!"

"Fools! Why stoop to protect such a lowly and pathetic race, one to which you are vastly superior?! Two Saiyans could have killed off every living being on this planet in months!" I paused and gazed skyward; a slim, silver crescent was visible even at this time of day. "Especially seeing how large of a moon Earth possesses…"

"I suppose that was meant to be destroyed as well?" she snapped in retort.

My eyes narrowed, and I turned back towards to the two traitors in front of me. _Are they playing me for a fool?!_

"What?! You're joking! Surely you know the power the full moon grants you! You must've seen it before!"

"What the Hell are you going on about now? I don't think I can take another of your Kami-damned stories!"

_They don't know about the moon?! About Oozaru?! But… how?!_

"How can you possibly…"

Then, I saw it.

"Wait! Your tails! Where are your tails?!"

The Princess blinked, surprise momentarily registering in her eyes.

"Our tails? Why does that matter?"

"ANSWER ME! NOW!"

"We both lost our tails permanently, long ago. Why does it matter to you?"

"Because, Kalani," I growled, barely holding back my rage, "those tails were key to unlocking your true power! Now, you can never transform at the full moon! Your true power is gone! No wonder you're on such good terms with these weaklings!"

"_Stop!"_ She roared, her ki continuing to rise. "Stop your damn posturing this instant, before I put an end to it myself- I don't care if you're Goku's brother! This is our home! These are our friends! My name is _Goha, _his is _Goku! _Leave us now, before I have to send you into orbit in a bodybag!"

I chuckled softly as their human friends began to rally behind the two. _She still has true Saiyan blood in her. The rage, the power is there, but it's been hidden well; we can use that._

"You think you can shirk your responsibilities to your race because you've made a few friends here? Well, my highness, I'm afraid that's not an option. Years ago, after you were sent towards this planet with Kakarot, our home planet was destroyed by a… shall we say, unstoppable force. There are few of us left, and to stay alive, we have to keep fighting for a living. The more warriors we have, the faster planets fall, and the faster planets fall, the more we're rewarded. You two are to join my team, effective immediately- by direct orders of your brother, Kalani."

Kalani's ki wavered momentarily as the shock hit home, and Kakarot stepped in front of her.

"No! You may be my brother, and I regret what happened to our people, but we're not joining a crew of space pirates! You can get off of this planet this instant, head back to your team, and tell them that Son Goku and Son Goha refuse to be pieces in their games for money and power!"

"This is your last chance, Kakarot. You _will _join me!"

"Over our dead bodies!"

_Then it's decided._

"I suppose that settles it. Your actions are unbecoming of true Saiyans- especially you, Kalani! I would expect… _more… _from royalty, but it seems like you're both disappointments… and disappointments must be dealt with."

I might have felt a spark of remorse in my heart for my brother as I began to charge a ball of ki in my hands, but I quickly shrugged it off. _They're traitors now, and traitors must die, even if they're family. A pity, they would've served Vegeta's plans well…_

"Daddy!"

I faltered as a small child broke free from the group behind the two Saiyans and rushed to Kakarot's side, tears welling in his eyes.

_A tail… He must be Kakarot and Kalani's son… _

"But then again, if you two won't join me, perhaps your son will…"

"Never, Raditz!"

Without heed to my brother's futile words of resistance, I began to swiftly make my way across the beach towards the child. Kakarot attempted to stave me off with a hook, but I dodged it easily, connecting my knee to his stomach with a crack that tossed him through the air like a rag doll. I hoisted my nephew up by his collar, ignoring his cries of protest as I looked down on his pathetic father.

"I'll give you a day to reconsider, brother. If you by some chance have some sense knocked into your thick skull before then, come and find me; if you waste this final chance, the next time you see your son, he'll be part of my team as we return to conquer your worthless planet!"

Farther down the beach, Kakarot and Kalani's human companions were backing away from me, retreating in the opposite direction.

"Ha! Craven scum! You won't even stand by Kakarot's side in battle! What is this?!"

Before the words had even left my mouth, I began to sense an immense power growing behind me, and pivoted on my heels, cursing my hubris; I had forgotten Kalani. The princess stood behind me in all of her terrible Saiyan glory, her aura glowing around her as a massive blue stream of ki erupted from her hands. _Too close to dodge…_

"THIS IS _GOHA_, MOTHERFUCKER!"


	4. Chapter 4: Et Tu, Vegeta?

_My God. Talk about getting carried away with Chapter 2… As you can probably tell, I had a very, very good time writing this chapter, and I probably got a little overzealous at some points, but I just kept coming up with more and more to add in about Vegeta's escapades (if you didn't read my intro for the previous chapter, this one is from Vegeta's perspective), and I couldn't stop writing!_

_A warning for those who don't like yaoi: While Peacemaker's main romance is heterosexual, this chapter does have a yaoi scene at the end (I won't spoil it for you), and this is why I'm changing the story to an M rating, just to be safe. If you really can't take that sort of thing, I'd advise you to skip the last part of the chapter. I can't say I didn't warn you…_

_Regardless, I hope you all like this rather lengthy installment! Enjoy!_

Peacemaker

_Chapter 4: Et Tu, Vegeta?_

"Signal: Lost."

I grunted in frustration as the link to Raditz's scouter went black and a mechanical voice droned out the obvious, musing over all I had heard and seen. _So Kakarot and my sister have truly betrayed us... unfortunate. I was hoping they would join our group, but it seems I'll have to compensate for their stupidity._

"Nappa, progress?" I barked quickly into my scouter's microphone, watching a distant, black column of acrid smoke rising above the canopy. We had long ago used artificial moons to transform into Oozarus and purge the villages on Udaryya's surface, razing half of the planet's forests in the progress with waves of fire visible from space. The underground villages, however, were a different story entirely. Udaryya's indigenous species was a race of insectoid creatures that had proven particularly apt at digging massive, elaborate, and hidden networks of tunnels, which they had populated with just as many villages as there had been on the surface. Nappa was currently in the process of clearing out and collapsing one of what I believed to be the few remaining tunnel systems; after over a year, our final victory over Udaryya was so near… I could practically taste its sweetness.

"Almost finished, Vegeta. Just picking off the stragglers from the last village."

Combing these was proving without a doubt to be the most time-consuming and mind-numbing part of the planet's conquest; with every further set of tunnels I found, with all the underground villages I burned, with every engagement I had to fight in utter darkness far below the surface, my hatred for Frieza grew. Sending us here, mocking us, trying to break us with a mission that he knew would take at least a year, wanting to see us- wanting to see _me- _crack. That, of course, being after he destroyed our planet and nearly exterminated our race, only allowing my team and me to live as some kind of sick example to other headstrong races: This is what happens to if you become too powerful. This is what you're reduced to.

But we wouldn't have to stand this for much longer, if things went according to plan. While Raditz and Nappa had constantly talked of deserting or rebelling against Frieza, their protests had always been spur-of-the-moment. Not thought through, not planned. Had I let them carry out their wishes of immediate rebellion, we would be dead, and Frieza would have put down the rest of the Saiyans along with us. The fools I worked with didn't understand the value of patience; they didn't understand that it was the slow knife that cut the deepest, after waiting years for its time to strike. Even with the value of surprise, though, I could the task would be far from easy. I would need help to wage war on Frieza, and those willing to offer help to Saiyans were becoming increasingly rare.

With Kakarot and Kalani's treason, and Raditz's inconveniencing distance from Nappa and me, my options were growing even more limited; sooner or later I would have to contact Turles again. After Shikk, when I first began to make plans, I had rendezvoused with him in deep space on the way to report to Frieza. He turned down my offer as madness, preferring to lay low and avoid the ire of the Planet Trade Organization, but even then I could see that he wanted it, that like all surviving Saiyans, his heart throbbed with the insatiable desire for revenge. Activating the long-range communicator in my pod, I hailed his ship, tapping a foot impatiently as the frequencies adjusted to account for Udaryya's thick atmosphere. _He'll crack this time. He cannot resist the call of vengeance for long. I suppose the treat I have in store for him won't hurt either…_

"Identify yourself."

I groaned internally at the mechanical voice that answered my summons. _Cacao. Damn cyborg. I never trusted machines._

"You know who I am, machine. Put Turles on the comm."

After a long pause, and an inane cackle in the background, the pirate's drawling voice met my ears.

"Well now, if it isn't little Vegeta again. You just can't take no for an answer, can you, Prince?"

"And you just don't know how to stop being a gutless coward, do you, Turles? You…"

"Spare me the speech, kid," he interrupted, "I've heard it all before. Where's your Saiyan pride, Turles? How can you stand for this? Why won't you help me? For the same damned reason that you haven't snapped yet, Vegeta: I'm not stupid. You're on a suicide mission, and my men and I aren't sticking along with you so you can get everyone killed with your self-righteous agenda of revenge."

"It's not a suicide mission!" I snapped, bringing up the schematics on my scouter and transmitting it to Turles' ship. "I've spent the past year thinking about this, Turles, planning for every eventuality. I didn't have that the last time we met. Just take a glance at the data I'm sending you."

Cacao's voice became audible again, and my smirk grew as he spoke.

"Sir, we have received a secure transmission from Udaryya. It appears to be… the Planet Trade Organization's… entire database, sir."

"What?!" Turles replied; I could hear footfalls as he moved to the computers. "You can't be… by the gods… Cacao, begin downloading it, now! Vegeta… this is… "

"Everything," I completed smugly, "every up-to-date fleet movement, troop deployment, financial exchange, fortification schematic- all of them. This is the motherlode of data on the Planet Trade Organization, and for a space pirate like you? It's everything you'll ever need."

"But… how?!"

"It doesn't matter how, Turles. What matters is that I have it, and you want it. This data will set you for the rest of your life, and I'd say knowing everything about Frieza's military will make things more than a little easier when the fighting begins. Oh, and before you think about just taking it and running- you're also downloading a dormant virus that I can activate at any time, from anywhere in the galaxy. And if I do… well, I sure hope that you like your ship a lot… cooler… because space is very, very cold."

"Clever one, aren't you, Vegeta?" He replied, his composure quickly regained. "I always liked you. But you and I both know that all the military data in the galaxy won't do any good against Frieza himself. Say we do team up, and use the information to break through the armada around his base on Frieza Planet 79; together we may even take down Zarbon and Dodoria, but Frieza would blow us out of the sky before we even got to him. We don't stand a chance against his power."

"Where's your Saiyan pride? You're talking like a coward! Frieza wouldn't stand a chance against us, not the other way around! He destroyed Vegeta-sei because he feared us, and for good reason! A team of Saiyans would crush him into the dirt…"

"No!" Turles cried in response. "You don't understand his power, Vegeta! It's greater than all of us! I can understand your doubt, but you've never seen him in action. You've never seen what he can do!"

"And I suppose you have?" I retorted, scowling. _No one ever sees Frieza fight, because he never does. Everyone thinks he's so damn strong, but it's all a charade. _

"Yes!" he growled. "I have! It was about a decade or so after Vegeta-sei was destroyed, when I still worked for Frieza. I was young, but still one of his best conquerors. I never failed a mission… until fucking Corodon!"

A loud crash echoed through the small pod as he brought his fist down on some unfortunate object on his end, and I could feel the pent fury in his voice as he continued. _This is new… I wasn't expecting this… but perhaps I can use it._

"Even though they were barely beginning to discover space travel, the indigenous race on that miserable planet had fully mastered ki- almost as much as us. It was like fighting thousands of Saiyans at once! I transformed into Oozaru, and I still stood no chance against them. My entire team was slaughtered in the first city we landed in, right in front of my eyes, and I barely escaped to the planet's moon alive, where I could call Frieza for backup. I was expecting a ship full of men, or maybe a few more elite teams like mine, but that bastard came himself, with Zarbon and Dodoria. After I was healed, I went down to the surface again with them; I thought we were all going to fight, but Zarbon held me back, told me to watch carefully. Corodon's entire military was assembled beneath us, and Frieza went down there alone."

To my surprise, I found myself hanging on Turles' words, brushing cold sweat off of my forehead as he gave a shuddering sigh.

"My team and I, one of Frieza's most powerful and respected instruments, was torn to shreds within a few hours facing off against a city full of those bastards. Frieza took on half the planet and_ slaughtered them. _It was a massacre. When it finally looked like there were just too many, he transformed. In the next few hours he went through _two more forms, _and still came out on top. In the end, in his fourth form, when everything was in ruins and there were only a few fighters left, he broke off and blew the whole planet up without breaking a sweat, cackling like a madman the entire time. In that moment I realized that he, not a rogue comet, had destroyed Vegeta-sei. That he had killed our race. And that no matter how hard I trained, I could never hope to defeat him. So I left his army and drifted for a few years, doing mercenary work, bounty hunting, smuggling… until one day in my travels, I came across a dead planet in uncharted space. A planet which had been killed by a tree… but that's a story for another time."

Silence reigned for several minutes, and I was plunged into a mental contention. _If Frieza really is as powerful as Turles claims, the plan might not be enough… Perhaps I should reconsider… No! Don't act like a weakling! Of course the plan will work! I have the blueprints of his entire base, of his entire army! I am the Prince of All Saiyans! Turles is nothing but a lower class warrior-turned-rogue, his word means nothing. I could have wiped out Corodon just as easily as Frieza. I can't let myself be dissuaded from the vengeance that is rightfully mine!_

"Turles, times have changed. What you thought was a display of power beyond equal ten years ago is nothing now. I assure you that with the data I gave you and our combined forces, not to mention your Tree of Might, we're more than a match for Frieza."

"Perhaps you're right… but casualties are inevitable, and the data is of little use to me if my ship and crew are destroyed."

"Is justice for our people not worth more than your ship, Turles? Think of honor again… think of the satisfaction of watching the life drain from that bastard's face! The Saiyans will rise again, and when we do, and I am king, you will be richly rewarded, my friend."

What seemed like an eternity passed before Turles spoke again.

"We are at your command, Prince Vegeta."

A wide grin spread across my face as the sweet feeling of victory filled my chest. _Triumph at last. With Turles' men and resources, Saiyan vengeance is one step closer to being realized._

"Excellent. Pull into orbit around Frieza Planet 79; after Nappa and I give our report, we'll meet on your ship to discuss plans. Vegeta out."

As I stepped out of my pod, an explosion rocked the dead forest around me, and the distant column of smoke doubled in size. An eyebrow raised, I took off, flying towards the column's source, a narrow rift in the ground, which served as the entrance to one of the last networks of underground tunnels on Udaryya. _Whatever explosion I felt came from here, and almost certainly from Nappa; he should have finished by now anyways. What's taking that fool so damn long? _

Without warning, one of the insectoid natives climbed from the smoking hole, babbling in a strange language and limping heavily on a bloody leg. Upon seeing me, it let out a cry and drew a crude spear from where it had been strapped to its back, throwing it weakly. I caught the primitive weapon with a chuckle, holding it in my left hand as I slowly and menacingly advanced upon the helpless creature. As it attempted to flee back into the crevice, I seized its neck with my right hand, closing my fist more and more tightly until the exoskeleton snapped beneath my glove and pale blood spilled forth. At this the head fell limply forward and the limbs ceased struggling; with a smirk I sent enough ki from my palm to roast the creature completely. After I had thrown it to the ground and begun to carve the limbs off with the spear, Nappa at last emerged from the hole, his armor coated with dirt and grime.

"You missed one." I called, pointing out the corpse as I sat on a fallen tree and began to eat one of the legs.

He simply grinned in response, and I raised an eyebrow.

"What are you so happy about?" I managed between mouthfuls. "You took far too long!"

"I took out the last three tunnel systems," he replied, crossing his arms smugly, "there was a hidden passage that led between them."

I at once dropped the leg, tapping my scouter to consult the seismic maps we had been using to locate networks of tunnels; all of the remaining signatures had vanished. _Nappa actually did it. It's… _

"Finished." I completed aloud, the shock still registering. After a moment, I had recovered, and let out a maniacal laugh. "HA! Finished, Nappa, we're finished! This godsforsaken planet is finally ours!"

"It's feels so good after all this time," Nappa replied, surrounding himself in an aura of ki to harden the mud caked on his armor before proceeding to brush it off, "how long did it take?"

I tapped my scouter again and an active clock display activated; all of Frieza's soldiers used them to measure the length of conquests.

"One year, two weeks, three days, and 14 hours," I grunted, taking great pleasure in finally deactivating the timer, "fairly good time for a planet like this without Raditz, I suppose; not that he would have been of any measurable assistance anyways."

"So, should we head back to 79, then?" Nappa asked, grabbing one of the arms and beginning to consume it ravenously.

"Of course, yes. Gods, I can't wait to be rid of this filthy planet, even if we are going to Frieza's stronghold. But when we arrive there, after we give our report, there's someone special we need to meet…"

"Who?"

"You'll see, Nappa. You'll see."

_Frieza Planet 79:_

"Yes, Lord Frieza, my men are fully capable. It will be done, your highness."

I swore vehemently to myself as the door to Frieza's chamber opened to the sound of a familiar voice; one I knew all too well. Doing my best not to show any sign of anger or other emotion, I walked slowly and purposefully up the stairs in front of the entry, retaining my composure most of the way down the long hallway leading to Frieza himself; until they spoke, that is.

"Well if it isn't little bitty Vegeta. We've missed you! You took so long on that last conquest, we thought that the bugs might've gotten the better of you."

My eyes closed involuntarily and my hands balled into fists. _When the rebellion is over… I will personally execute every member of the Ginyu Force._

Recoome spoke up again, towering over me.

"Where's the greeting for your good buddy Recoome, Vegeta? I know you've missed me."

Nappa growled, raising his fists.

"Stay away from us, freak!"

"Oh yeah?" the massive man replied, charging a ki field around himself. "And who's gonna make me?"

"That'll be enough, Recoome," Captain Ginyu called from across the room, where he had been talking with Frieza, "We don't want to… damage… the two just after they return from such a _lengthy _mission."

"Quite lengthy indeed."

It took everything I had not to snap outright at the sound of Frieza's voice as he gestured for Ginyu to rejoin his group where they stood near the adjacent wall.

"It's been quite a long time, Vegeta. A year and two weeks, if I'm not mistaken?"

"No, L… Lord Frieza," I gritted, my mouth tasting foul after uttering the mere words, "You are accurate. Our conquest of Udaryya did take over a year, but only because of…"

"I didn't summon you here so you could give me excuses, Vegeta. I summoned you here to give me your report, and I must say it is most disappointing. Wouldn't you agree, Captain Ginyu?"

"Of course, Lord Frieza. Such incompetence is not worthy of an excuse."

"Agreed. Captain, it took Vegeta here and his colleagues over a year to conquer… Udaryya, I believe it was? About how long do you think it would have taken you and your men to subjugate the planet?"

"Well, Sir, the surface area of Udaryya is approximately 1.5 billion square kilometers, and the population was formerly placed at around five to ten million. With Guldo's psychic and time-altering powers, Burter's incredible speed, and, of course, my impeccable leadership, I estimate that we would have conquered the planet in mere weeks or months, as opposed to Vegeta's atrocious time of over a year."

A sadistic grin on his face, Frieza turned his mobile throne towards me again.

"Do you hear that, Vegeta? That means that you're a _disappointment_, just like the rest of your filthy monkey race."

My jaw dropped, my internal rage leaping to new heights; I had to throw every ounce of willpower I had into restraining myself from firing a Galick Gun into that smug face this very second.

"But… the…"

"Ah ah ah, Vegeta- no excuses. Now, Captain Ginyu, I want you to take your men to Udaryya and destroy it, just like I instructed you."

_WHAT?!_

"B-but Sir, we spent a year conquering that planet! We were told that a colony was to be founded!"

"Well, Vegeta," he responded smoothly, still smiling, "if it took the Prince of All Monkeys so piteously long to conquer Udaryya, I'm disinclined to believe that such a planet is… _worth… _my investments."

"You have no right, you son of a bitch!" Nappa cried, charging a ball of electricity in his right hand before I could stop him.

As he prepared to throw it towards the leering emperor, there was a flash of blue, and Burter was looming over Nappa, grabbing and holding back his outstretched wrist.

"Fast on the trigger, aren't you, ace? Not as fast as me."

Hatred on his face, he began to charge the same attack in his unrestrained hand, but it was I who halted him this time.

"Nappa, no."

At the sound of my voice, Nappa reluctantly faltered, letting the electricity dissipate and dropping his gaze from Burter's, who rejoined the Ginyu Force to the side with a chuckle.

"What is your next assignment for us, Lord Frieza?" I asked, bottling my rage and putting the energy into a guise of indifference.

"Let me see," he replied, tapping a button on his mobile throne and bringing up a map of the galaxy, "how does Montyra sound, Vegeta? Remote, pre-industrial, very small planetary size… I think you need an easy conquest after one which was obviously so very difficult."

I grunted in response, making a half-hearted bow before turning and stalking down the hall to the door, past the snickering Ginyus. _I must be patient; my time will come. When it does, though, by the gods, I'm going to enjoy killing Frieza far more than I should._

"Don't disappoint me again, Vegeta," Frieza called mockingly after me, "or else I might have to send you crying home to mommy."

I stopped short, my hands instinctively balling into fists so tightly that the fabric of my white gloves nearly tore.

"My mother's dead."

I could feel his asinine, sardonic smile burning into my back as he replied.

"I know."

_In Orbit:_

"That son of a bitch!" Nappa roared, slamming his fist down on the conference table of Turles' ship. "I can't take him anymore! Let's just do it _now, _Vegeta! Turles and his men are here, we have the data!"

"That may be true," I muttered, running my gloved hands through my hair, "but we're not ready, and after he tormented us like that, he'll be expecting retaliation. Plus, I don't fancy facing both Frieza and the Ginyu Force at once, and I don't imagine Turles does either."

The pirate in question nodded, throwing off his cloak and placing his hands on the table.

"Vegeta's right, Nappa; going in now would be suicide, even with the data and our combined forces. When we strike the base, Frieza has to be as close to alone as possible- no Ginyus, no Zarbon, no Dodoria. Moreover, there's the fact that the fleet we're in the middle of is active, and would blow us out of the sky if we tried to attack the planet. We need to think tactically about this, follow Vegeta's example and set the attack up carefully. This is a delicate matter, and it will take time to attend to properly."

"Agreed. Turles, you are an expert at what you do, and while Nappa and I conquer Montyra, I'm assigning you to use the Planet Trade Organization database to weaken Frieza's empire in any way you can. Scout out defenses and make plans, learn the movements of his armies and armadas. When we return, I want you to be ready to strike a crippling blow to Frieza at a moment's notice. Can you undertake this, Turles?"

"Of course, Prince Vegeta." He responded, kneeling before me with his right hand across his chest.

_I could get used to this, _I thought with a smirk as I tapped my scouter, summoning a galactic map akin to the one Frieza had used to select Montyra for us, _now let's see about this planet…_

"Gods damn him!" I cried aloud when I finally located the small, rocky body. "It's even farther away from here than Earth! When he said it was remote…"

"That is quite distant," Turles murmured, stroking his chin contemplatively as he studied the map, "all the way past the Sol System… I'd say it would take about fourteen months just to travel there in a standard-issue pod."

Nappa scowled, gesturing pointedly towards the distant planet on the map as he turned to me.

"Over two years just in transit for a simple conquest?! This is ridiculous, Vegeta! He's still just mocking us! I can't take any more of this!"

"Bear with me one last time, Nappa. After we get back from Montyra, Turles will have had all the time in the world to plan and prepare for our rebellion, and we will at last be ready to claim vengeance for all of these humiliations!"

With a grunt he left the room, leaving me with Turles. After a minute or so of uncomfortable silence and tension, the pirate spoke up from behind me.

"Two years is a long time, Vegeta, even for someone as patient as you. It's obvious that Frieza only assigned that planet to you in an attempt to provoke you, but why are you putting up with Montyra?"

"You're right, two years is long, but it will be spent mostly in hypersleep, and it gives you time to prepare for the fight with the schematics I gave you. Since Montyra is near Sol, I'm also planning on stopping at Earth to retrieve Raditz from his mission there- if he's still alive by then."

Turles raised an eyebrow, taking a seat in one of the until now unused chairs in the room.

"I've been meaning to ask about that. Why did you send Raditz to Earth? I thought that it had already been conquered by your sister and that lower-class infant who looked like my doppelganger… what was his name again?"

"Kakarot," I spat, shaking my head, "but it turns out that he and my sister are both traitors. I sent Raditz to retrieve them for the rebellion, if possible, while Nappa and I were on Udaryya. When he got there, though, he discovered that Kalani and Kakarot had never followed through with their mission. They lost their memories due to an accident when they were infants, and they befriended the weakling natives instead of exterminating them. They attacked Raditz when he revealed their true purpose, and we lost contact; I'm fairly confident that he can deal with them, though."

"Interesting. It's too bad about your sister, Vegeta; she could have helped secure your rightful place as king, not to mention…"

He trailed off, and I raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Well… when the Saiyans rise again, we'll need to… repopulate, don't you think?"

"Oh…" I responded, blinking and involuntarily turning red, "Well I don't suppose I'd considered that…"

We were both spared an uncomfortable moment when Cacao's voice came on over the intercom.

"Sir, Rasin and Lakasei have finished repairing the damage done to the Kuatori engine drives. They are ready for installation."

"Thank you, Cacao." he replied curtly before turning to me. "That reminds, me, Vegeta, I have a bargain to make with you. A few weeks ago, my crew and I raided a merchant convoy departing from the famous shipyards around Kuator, and recovered two prototype, new model engine drives originally intended for Frieza's ship. They were damaged in the raid, and as you heard the repairs have only just now been completed. Now, I had intended to install these two engine drives on my ship, but if you were to install one in each of your two pods, I'd say that you could reach Montyra twice as quickly. Fourteen months there and back, instead of twenty-eight."

_Intriguing… I suppose he'll want money, power, or a high position when the rebellion is over?_

"I'm listening, Turles. What do you want for them?"

"First, I want to retain some degree of autonomy over my ship and crew. I will serve you, but we will not be your slaves."

"Acceptable."

"Second, I want a portion of the Planet Trade Organization's fortune when Frieza is dead."

"Of course. We'll settle on the amount later."

Turles' grin grew even wider, and he stepped towards me, his eyes locked on mine as he placed his hands on my shoulders. _That's… What the Hell is he doing?!_

"And for the third thing," he purred, "Vegeta, I think we both need to… let off some steam… it's been so very long since I've seen my own kind… I want _you _for the third thing, Vegeta. Just this once and you can have the engine drives."

_It has been a long time since I've done something like this, _I thought, remaining still as I considered Turles' offer. Usually, when I grew restless on conquests, I had Raditz to turn to, but seeing as he had been gone for a year, and Nappa, my former protector, was out of the question, I suddenly found that I was very restless indeed, as the tall Saiyan's hands on my shoulders sent shivers through my body. _With all of this planning, and conspiracy, and anger… I suppose it wouldn't hurt me… to relax…_

Before I knew it I was nodding wordlessly, and with an almost feral growl, Turles moved his hands down to my back, where he proceeded to draw me against his chest, his intoxicating pheromones filling the air around us. _Oh, gods, I didn't know how much I needed this. _As his hands began to roam lower and lower and his tail unwound, brushing against mine, it crossed my mind that this wasn't the best behavior to encourage among someone I needed to respect me as a superior. Following a moment of consideration, I realized that I didn't give a fuck, and I pushed myself fully into his embrace, wrapping my tail around his and guiding his hands to where they needed to go. The sensations that neither of us had felt in so long filled our minds and took control of our bodies, so that in moments we were on our knees, stripping each other's armor off as far as the waist between deep kisses and whispered profanities.

Against my better judgment, I let him pin me to the floor, my hands forming fists inside my gloves as he masterfully administered his mouth to my bare neck and chest, his hips straddling and gently rocking against mine. I responded by moving my own along with his, and he growled again, grinding our tails and hips together even more fiercely. The wave of pleasure coerced a moan from me, and at this sound he locked his eyes with mine, a question evident on his flushed face. I nodded once more, but as he began to swiftly deprive my lower body of its armor, a horrifying sound echoed through the chamber: the door opening.

My eyes widening in terror, I tried to push Turles off of me, but he was too far gone to even register my futile attempts at extraction, being occupied applying his mouth to my inner thigh.

"Turles!" I hissed, my heart pounding in my chest as footfalls became audible on the other side of the conference table behind which we were hidden. "You have to get off, now!"

My protests began to register somewhat, but it was far too late; by the time Turles had lifted his head, Daiz was standing over us, his mouth hanging open.

"Captain?!"

_On the Planet Surface:_

"How did you get Turles to give us these engine drives?" Nappa asked, a perplexed expression on his face as Rasin and Lakasei completed installing the Kuatori hardware in our pods. "Cutting the time in half- they must be worth a fortune!"

"He… just wanted money." I grunted, swearing internally as my cheeks went red, and feinting a coughing fit to cover for it.

"It doesn't surprise me," Nappa replied, never doubting me for a moment, "Frieza has got to have more money than the rest of the galaxy put together!"

I nodded, remaining silent and pretending to watch Amond arm-wrestling with Cacao at a table on the other end of the launch pad. After a moment, however, Nappa spoke again.

"Vegeta, have you noticed that guy with the green ponytail? He won't stop staring at you."

I turned an ever more vibrant shade of crimson and stalked to my pod, muttering profanities under my breath as I sat down inside. Nappa soon got into his, and I linked our scouters while Turles closed the doors and gave us the signal to take off.

"Nappa- on the way to Montyra, we're stopping at Earth to retrieve Raditz, if he's still alive, and dispose of Kakarot and Kalani if necessary. Vegeta out."

I paused to perform the pod's startup checks and power up the engines; when I looked up, my eyes met Turles', and I shuddered as our pods began to ascend, the wind throwing back his cloak and exposing the armor I had been tearing off mere hours ago. _I have to concentrate on the mission, _I mentally reprimanded myself, _on the plan. It was only out of loneliness and convenience, the same thing happened gods know how many times with Raditz. Nothing serious_. Satisfied with my explanation, I smiled wryly and leaned back in the pod, falling back on an old pastime of mine: imagining how I would kill Frieza. Hypersleep was overcoming me quickly, but I rested easy on one thought. _Frieza would be wise to fear my return from Montyra… for Hell hath no fury like a Saiyan scorned. _


	5. Chapter 5: Only Natural

_Peacemaker_

_Chapter 5: Only Natural_

"THIS IS _GOHA_, MOTHERFUCKER!"

I have to admit, there is something purely liberating about releasing that much energy at once. Call me demented, call me sadistic, but I tossed my head back and laughed as the Kamehameha sent Raditz crashing through the front wall of Kame House in a blaze of cyan and a wave of heat.

_Well, that takes care of him… bastard. _

After glancing at the smoking rend in the wood and glass, and confirming that the man's body was still, I rushed to Goku's side, ushering a sobbing Gohan into my arms.

"Oh, God… Goku, are you…"

"I'm fine," he interrupted, pushing himself into a sitting position, his hand over his wounded torso, "Gohan… is Gohan alright?"

"Here," I replied, stroking the child comfortingly and running my hands through his hair, "he's here with me. He's safe."

A weight seemed to lift from my brother's chest; with a grunt, he pushed himself to his feet, taking Gohan and turning towards Raditz's supine form with a scowl. Before Goku could make a move towards him, we were both swarmed by our friends, who had backed away to a safe distance from my attack.

"Are you two okay?!"

"Is he dead?!"

"What are we going to do with him?!"

I opened my mouth to respond, but words failed me as I threw another passing glance at the hole in Kame House; it was empty. _Wha- where is he?!_

"Everyone, get back!" I cried, shoving Krillin and Goku behind me before dashing towards the opening.

"Goha, what in Kami's name are you doing?!"

"Raditz is gone! Goku, stay here and protect them; I'll look for him inside!"

After looking back to make sure Goku was following my instructions, I clambered swiftly through the gap, proceeding to search the darkened house for any sign of the intruder. Aside from the massive hole in the front wall, everything appeared to be intact; plates from breakfast were still at the table, the furniture and carpets hadn't been disturbed, and a deathly silence smothered Kame House like a blanket. _Kami damn him! He isn't here; he must have flown off like the coward he is…_

Just as I turned to rejoin the others outside, a snide voice echoed throughout the house, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

"You managed to destroy my scouter and even singe my armor, your highness, but I'm still so very disappointed in you. You had such potential for greatness- you are royalty, after all."

My blood boiling, I charged a luminous ball of ki in my hands, suspending it in the air to light the area as I hunted for the voice's source. _When I find that insane bastard, he'll have no Hell to speak of…_

"Still trying to resist the call of destiny, are we? Kalani, my brother is far too enamored of these Earthlings, but you… I can feel the Saiyan inside of you… Pent up for so long, the urge to destroy, to conquer, to fight… why do you deny it, Kalani? Come with me, and unleash your true nature, as you so desperately want to…"

_"Shut up!" _I roared, blasting apart the stairwell in a flurry of wood and dust and charging a ki aura around myself.

"I can feel your unease, Princess, your reluctance to resist me. It's so simple, Kalani... you never belonged with these fools in the first place. They treat you like common trash and reject your lust for battle, but among my people, you would be a goddess! Join me, and you can fight _forever…_"

The aura faltered and dispersed, and my ki wavered. _Fight forever… maybe I could… I have no place here anymore… NO! What am I thinking?!_

The sound of Raditz laughing resonated through Kame House, and with a growl I obliterated the rafters above me. _Where is he hiding?!_

"I'll never join you, you lunatic! I can't abandon Goku, my home, my friends!"

"Ha! You don't even believe the words you speak. Your place is with me, gaining measureless glory in battle! Not here, forgotten and bereft of your kin at the beck and call of weaklings who cannot fight for themselves! Kakarot has made his choice, a choice for wasting away his life in the servitude of a lesser race, soon to be forgotten for eternity; what will yours be, Kalani?"

I fell to me knees, my mental defenses failing and the primal urges of which Raditz spoke taking over, after I had spent years training myself to hold them back. Was it worth it? To throw away the only life I had ever known, to join Raditz and his band of fighters? To abandon my brother and his son, to leave the friends whom I had grown up with, for glory and the satisfaction of an alien instinct? _Yes, _the Saiyan within me screamed, slowly tearing down everything inside me which knew that this was wrong. Closing my eyes in shame, I conceded, not resisting as armored hands suddenly slammed into my temples, and the floor rushed to meet me.

When I awoke- if you could call it that- everything was a blur. I squinted as bright sunlight met my eyes, wincing as I ghosted my fingers over my throbbing temples. _No fractures… no hemorrhaging… Thank Kami. _Satisfied in the knowledge that my death wasn't impending, I pushed myself into a sitting position, blinking as my senses continued to adjust to my new surroundings. The land around me was grassy and pastoral; I appeared to be in the midst of a field. Frowning as the muffled sound of talking met my ears , I turned my head towards the source, my breath catching in my chest as I realized that I was at the edge of a massive crater. Raditz was crouched at the bottom, leaning partially into a spherical pod and talking with someone I couldn't see. Leaning over the crater's rim, I attempted to listen in on the conversation, though the more I heard, the more confused I became.

"...Kalani was able to be more easily persuaded to join us than I thought, Prince Vegeta. When you and Nappa arrive in six months, I expect that she and Kakarot's son will be ready for immediate absorption into our team."

"Excellent work, Raditz. I must admit that I'm most pleased with your progress; with two more Saiyans in our group, the planet that we've been assigned next by Frieza should fall in mere days. And you're certain that Kakarot can't be converted?"

"I'm afraid so, sir. His memory loss has resulted in him developing a misguided urge to protect the pathetic inhabitants of this planet. Should I kill him?"

"Only if the need arises. While he is a traitor, it would be a shame to needlessly spill Saiyan blood, with so few of us left. For now, once you're certain that Kakarot's son and my sister are with us, finish the subjugation of this planet, and hold your position until we reach Earth."

"Of course, sir. It will be done."

"Good. I'm going to reengage my hypersleep system; don't interrupt me a second time unless it's absolutely necessary. Vegeta out."

The crackle of static echoed momentarily through the crater before Raditz pressed a button and silence fell again. _He was using some kind of communicator… but who the Hell was he talking to? _As I leaned further to try and get a better look, I heard a soft groan from next to me, and turned over to find Gohan, barely beginning to stir. _He captured Gohan too? But what happened to Goku?! _

"Ah, so the Princess is finally awake, is she? It took you long enough."

I growled, making a fumbling, ultimately failed attempt to stand as Raditz ascended the crater's slopes and stepped onto the verdant grass beside me.

"You hit me in the temples! I could've died, you bastard!"

"Spare me, Kalani. Perhaps such a blow would've killed a human, but not a powerful Saiyan in her prime. The Earthlings have led you to underestimate yourself, and I'm going to help you unlock your true potential."

With that he extended his right hand to me, an unreadable expression on his face. My eyebrows raised in genuine shock, I slowly took it, muttering thanks as he helped me to my feet before bowing once more.

"Forgive the circumstances under which I had to retrieve you, your highness; it was necessary for your reassimilation into our group."

_I could get used to this, _I thought with a smirk, nodding, _he's not that bad looking either, come to think of it… _

"Forgiven. And who exactly were you talking to, Raditz?"

"To your brother, Prince Vegeta. He will be arriving in six months to extract us for our next mission, once Earth is conquered."

My eyes widened as Raditz's words registered, and for a moment the Saiyan bloodlust which had taken over my mind subsided. _What the Hell am I doing, fraternizing with the enemy?! I have to get back to Goku! I have to kill this lunatic!_

Before Raditz could continue, I let out a ragged battle cry, flinging a bolt of ki blindly in his general direction and snatching Gohan from the ground before taking off. _Got to get out of here… _I had located Goku's distant ki, and was beginning to fly in his direction, when two muscular arms wrapped around my waist, rapidly dragging me back to the crater edge below. Struggling against Raditz's grip proved to be futile as he tossed Gohan aside, pinning my limbs to the ground with a scowl on his face.

"I don't want to hurt you, Kalani- don't force my hand!"

"You're going to destroy Earth! I can't let you!"

"You were born to fight and conquer! It's only natural! We've already settled this problem, gods damn it!"

I grunted, my Saiyan instincts beginning to take over again.

"But… but do we have to conquer Earth? Can't we leave this planet as it is?"

"That's going to be a lot harder, seeing as you just destroyed my pod with that senseless attack!"

"Oh…" I faltered, cringing slightly at the sight of a huge, smoking rend in the side of the small craft. _Well that leaves us at an impasse…_

After determining that the pod was definitely shot, I returned my gaze to Raditz's; when our eyes locked, my alien instincts once more wrested total control, casting a smile across my face. We remained as we were for several long moments, his hands still pinning me to the lush grass beneath us, our eyes never moving from one another's. Saiyan hormones which I had never known pumped through my veins, and before I fully understood what I was doing, I had wrested my arms out from under Raditz's, wrapped them around his neck, and was kissing him. For all of his pride and talk, he was just as shocked at my actions as I was, his eyes widening and his mouth moving under my lips, trying to form words.

"Ka… Kalan…"

My cheeks burning red with embarrassment, I quickly broke the kiss off, setting my head back onto the ground without a word. _Why the Hell did I do that?! _ Raditz watched me intently for several seconds, a conflicted expression on his face. It soon turned into a grin, however, and I suddenly became acutely aware of how intimate our position must have looked as he grabbed my wrists and pinned them down again. I froze, mortified, as he lowered his head to return my kiss, but while he did so, I felt a power level I knew all too well approaching us rapidly. Swearing, I rolled out from under him, not bothering to assuage his half-hearted cry of protest as I dropped into a combat stance. _Piccolo. _

My eyes roved the sky for any sign of the green bastard, and I began to preemptively charge a ball of ki in my fists. _After that World Martial Arts Tournament… I'm not letting him walk away this time._

"What is it, your highness? What's wrong?"

"Someone's coming," I replied, not bothering to look back, "someone bad. Can't you sense his ki?"

"Sense his ki? What are you talking about? I would use my scouter to locate him, if you hadn't destroyed it!"

Frowning, I began to explain sensing ki to Raditz, but stopped short as I sensed another power level, right alongside Piccolo's. _Goku? What in Kami's name is he doing with Piccolo?! _The two soon became visible on the horizon, flying side by side- Goku on his Flying Nimbus, and Piccolo with ki; they were headed straight for us. _What the Hell are they doing?! They should be at each other's throats! _Restrained from attacking for fear of hurting Goku, I could do nothing but watch irately as they lowered to the ground before us. When Piccolo did land in front of me, his teeth bared, I enveloped my fist in a shell of ki with a growl, more than prepared to knock a few Namekian teeth out.

"Goku, what the Hell is this?! Piccolo is our sworn enemy, why aren't you beating his sorry green ass to Korin's and back?!"

Goku began to respond, but Piccolo cut him off.

"First of all, why aren't _you _doing the same to the alien bastard who kidnapped you and your nephew, and beat your brother half to death?!"

I began to send back a biting retort out of instinct, but stopped short as what Piccolo said registered, slowly turning my head to face Raditz.

"I… you what?!"

"I saw it all," Piccolo continued before Raditz could reply, "After he knocked you out, he took Gohan, and beat your brother within an inch of his life. Your friends had to take him to Korin and Yaijirobe's Tower to heal him; otherwise, he would be dead, or in no condition to fight."

At this, what little self-control I had left began to fight against my Saiyan instincts, and I pivoted to face Raditz, my ki spiking through the roof and the shell of pulsating energy around my hand doubling in size.

"How dare you nearly kill my brother and closest friend, you vile, impudent, dishonest…"

In the midst of my verbal onslaught, Raditz sighed, laying a hand across the base of my neck with an expression almost resembling pity, releasing just enough ki into the nerve cluster located there to send me falling face-first into the grass, unconscious.

For the second time in one day, I awoke in the middle of a field, though whereas the first time it had been to silence, now the sounds of battle greeted my ears even before I opened my eyes. When I did finally stagger to my feet, squinting in the receding sunlight, I couldn't help but gasp at the sight of Raditz holding Goku over the edge of the crater, laying blow after blow into his stomach as Piccolo sat to the side, his left hand on his forehead, surrounding by a field of sparks, and his right hand… gone. Gohan lay several yards away, crumpled over and motionless; thankfully, I could sense by his ki that he was still alive. _No, no no… this wasn't how it was supposed to be!_

"Raditz, stop!" I cried, rushing towards him, my heart rising in my chest with sickening fear. "As your ruler I command you to _stand down!" _

At the sound of my voice, Raditz instantly froze, his hand opening to drop Goku to the crater floor below. For the first time, I noticed that the midsection of his armor sported a massive, webbing crack, and he grunted as if in pain as he turned to me.

"Kalani… I'm sorry… It was necessary for your own safety…"

"I don't care about that! Just stop this, now!"

"My lady, I cannot concede to your request. Kakarot and this Namekian are our enemies now; they are the last obstacles in our path to eternal glory in battle. You must under…"

To my shock, the warrior trailed off midsentence, crying out in pain and falling to his knees. _What the Hell happened to him?!_

A moment later, Goku became visible clambering over the crater rim, his hands firmly clasped around Raditz's tail.

"Piccolo, I've got him again! I won't let go this time! Use your attack now!"

As the Namekian nodded, drawing his remaining hand down in front of his chest, I understood what he had been doing, and my mouth fell slightly open. I could feel the power of the blast he was building up; it was simply unstoppable. _No…_

"Piccolo! What are you doing?! You'll kill him!"

"I know!"

The words hit my conflicted heart like bullets, and without a thought or hesitation I placed myself in Piccolo's line of fire, between him and the incapacitated Raditz. It seemed utterly ridiculous, but the part of my mind that Raditz had unshackled knew that a true Saiyan would sacrifice their own life for their comrades unflinchingly.

"Kalani," Raditz choked from behind my, his eyes wide, "don't… it would be a waste of your potential! Prove your loyalty and eliminate that Namekian while he's vulnerable! We can leave this planet and Kakarot alone, unharmed, and you will be free to fulfill your destiny as the greatest fighter the universe has ever known!"

Against my better judgment, I soon found myself beginning to charge a bolt of ki in my hands, my thoughts running overdrive as I glanced from Piccolo to Raditz and back. _I could eliminate Piccolo and save Raditz at the same time… another thorn out of my side, and Kami, I've wanted to kill him for so long… _

"Goha, what are you doing?!" Piccolo bellowed over the noise of his charging attack. "Don't listen to him! I'm helping you and your brother now, we're not enemies anymore!"

"How long do you think this truce will last?!" Raditz called, struggling in Goku's grip on his tail. "How long after you kill me until he betrays you and stabs you in the back?! Kalani, strike first; it's Saiyan nature! And you and I both know that you can't resist yourself…"

"Don't make me do it, Goha!" Piccolo growled, his eyes locked on mine as ki and electricity continued to dance around him. "This needs to end, and if you want to betray us all, then you're ending with it!"

I said nothing in response, moving closer to Raditz and extending my hands in front of myself as I continued to charge a massive ki attack of my own. _Not how I expected to face Piccolo, but Hell, I'll take whatever I can get to end this bastard, even if he's pretending to fight with my brother…_

Without warning, as my confrontation with Piccolo seemed to be reaching a violent apex, a wave of ki slammed into my back, throwing me to the ground and nearly knocking me unconscious for the third time. A wave of guilt and shame washed upon me when I realized who my assailant was, and I bowed my head.

"Goku…"

"I'm sorry, Goha, but I won't let you do this! Raditz has to die; it's the only way, and I won't let you throw your own life away to save his! Piccolo, fire it now!"

_"NO!" _I cried, failing to reach even my knees as I attempted to move weakly towards the trio. Unabashed tears began to light the cool grass below me as I saw the fear and desperation in Raditz's pleading eyes, and yet again a surge of Saiyan hormones rocketed through my body.

"Brother, I beg you… don't do this! It would be a waste of Saiyan blood! Kalani and I will leave this planet unharmed, we'll never return!"

"He's telling the truth!" I cried, practically crawling towards Goku, the figures in front of me fading in and out. "I swear! Goku, if you're going to listen to me once in your damn life, do it _now! _You can't kill him!"

My brother faltered at this, his brow furrowing and his grip on Raditz's tail loosening slightly.

"No, Goku!" Piccolo called from across the field, much to my chagrin. "I know it's hard for you, but you can't listen to her! She's been corrupted!"

"We're talking about my sister, Piccolo! I've known her all my life!"

"Do you really know her, Goku?! You just had to blast her to stop her from getting herself killed for the alien bastard who kidnapped her and your son! She's changed; he's done something to her!"

This seemed to affect my normally serendipitous and innocent brother profoundly; after a moment, he tightened his grip with one hand, using the other to grab Raditz's mane of black hair and jerk his head back painfully.

"He's right; this isn't her! What did you do to my sister?!"

"I unlocked her true nature, Kakarot, a nature that you still deny, preferring instead to spend your years protecting weaklings like a lowly servant…"

"I said, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

"Nothing!" I yelled desperately in response, struggling to my knees. "He did nothing, Goku! Now stop this, there has to be another way! You _can't kill him!"_

_ "Why?!" _Piccolo and Goku cried in unison, their eyes locked on mine.

I faltered, my gaze drifting to Raditz, still struggling in fear in Goku's hold on his tail. _Why do I want to save him? _Many colorful things could describe me, but idiot was not one of them; I was fully aware that the sympathy I was feeling for my abductor, Raditz, was most likely from traumatic capture-bonding, a natural reaction of the mind in which it attempts to identify with an aggressor or captor, to render them more nonthreatening. Of course, he had also coerced me into letting my repressed Saiyan instincts run rampant, and actively augmented my already out-of-control superiority complex by continually addressing me as royalty. No matter how hard I tried, though, I couldn't shake that there was something else… something different about him, past all the raw alien hormones and Freudian trauma bonding (or perhaps because of them). As he lifted his head slightly to send one final, pleading look towards me, his lips silently moving to form my Saiyan name, I at last understood, a feeling I had once been revolted by flooding through my body and commandeering my mind.

"BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVE HIM!"

Everything seemed to freeze at once, and an instantaneous silence smothered the battlefield. My cheeks flushed burgundy in embarrassment, I swore profusely as exhaustion coupled with Goku's attack sent the unforgiving ground below rushing towards me once more.


End file.
